Councillor Ana Bailao pleads guilty to drunk driving

Councillor Ana Bailao has been convicted of a drunk driving-related charge stemming from a roadside stop in October.

At the time, Ms. Bailao said she intended to follow legal advice and plead not guilty to charges of impaired driving and blowing over the blood alcohol limit of 0.08.

She was scheduled to make a court appearance on Tuesday, but at a press conference on Monday the rookie Davenport councillor tearfully announced that she had instead chosen to follow her “heart.” She appeared in court Monday morning and pled guilty to blowing over the legal limit.

She revealed for the first time that she registered a blood alcohol concentration of 0.130. Ms. Bailao said the impaired driving charge was dropped.

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The councillor, who will not resign her seat as a result, is banned from driving for 12 months and has been fined $1,000.

“I made a bad choice, I take full responsibility for that and I accept the consequences,” Ms. Bailao, 36, said at a press conference. “I do not and have never condoned drinking and driving and this situation has made me intimately aware of the dangers this behaviour can cause. For the hurt and offence I caused others, I again sincerely apologize. The only thing I ask is for people to learn from my example. The decisions you make in a single moment can have life-altering consequences.”

Ms. Bailao said that after attending the Mayor’s Ball for the Arts at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on Oct. 15, she went to the Thompson Hotel. She confirmed that lobbyists working for a casino were also at the Thompson that night. The Toronto Star has reported that Jamie Besner, principal of Sussex Strategy Group, which has been hired by MGM, was at the Thompson that night, along with Nick Kouvalis, the mayor’s former chief of staff who has reportedly been hired by Sussex to do research for MGM’s bid.

Ms. Bailao said she did not discuss the casino pitch that night, and when asked about Mr. Besner and Mr. Kouvalis, she replied “we ended up at the same location.”

At end of the night, she said she took a cab to where she had parked her car, and then drove home. Ms. Bailao forgot to turn on her lights and was stopped by police on Bathurst Street, near Harbord, in the early morning hours of Oct. 16.

“I can guarantee you this situation will never happen again,” she said. “Sometimes you feel in control and one drink is just too many and it just changes everything.” She refused to say how many drinks she consumed because she believes what matters is that she had one too many. Brendan Crawley, a spokesman for the Ministry of the Attorney General, said Ms. Bailao’s case was brought forward a day earlier for resolution at the request of her lawyer. He said such an option is available to the Crown or the defence in any criminal case.

Following the October incident, a number of city councillors and Mayor Rob Ford expressed support for Ms. Bailao, drawing condemnation from the advocacy group Mothers Against Drunk Driving. On Monday, Ms. Bailao stood at a podium on her own, clutching a tissue she used to wipe away tears.

In an emailed statement, the mayor said “Councillor Ana Bailao did something wrong and she’s taken full responsibility for her actions. I have faith in the justice system and the court’s decision regarding the appropriate consequences. Ana is a good local councillor, she works hard and represents her residents well at city hall. I look forward to continuing to work with her on council.”

Added Councillor Adam Vaughan, “She made a mistake, she has owned up to it … The message that everyone should draw from this is don’t drink and drive.”

But MADD CEO Andrew Murie said Ms. Bailao should have pleaded guilty at the outset because it would be “better to deal with her fate and move on.”

Rather than calling for her to resign, Mr. Murie called on the city to add a clause in its code of conduct that stipulates that any elected official convicted of a crime must step down.

“Because no councillor should be serving in office with a federal criminal code conviction,” he said.